Xcelleration Factor - '57 210 2-door Wagon Racecar

Two sons revive their dad's F/Stock race car to honor his life, and makesure the past is never forgotten

Wanting to keep the look of the car's original 270hp 283, '57 style Corvette valvecovers and authentic carbs and manifold were adapted to the 383. At first glance, you might not realize that this isn't a 283.

Wendell took on the project enthusiastically, but instead of trying to find just any 210 two-door wagon, Wendell proposed to the Gittleman'strying to find Bob's original car. Even though they were skeptical, they gave the thumbs up for Wendell to start the search. Starting with the first person Bob sold the car to, Wendell searched through various Classic Chevy club records and other sources, tracking the car's VIN to see where the car had ended up. The search ended in Orlando, where the car sat behind a house, waiting to be restored by the current owner. Wendell knew he hit pay dirt when he first saw the car, the old decaloutlines still on the rear windows. A deal was struck, and Wendell leftwith Bob Gittleman's original race car.

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Rev It Up And Drop The Clutch - The 270hp, 283 option delivered two Rochester 4G-C four barrels, Power-Pak heads and a Duntov "097" solidlifter cam, a package capable of 7,000-plus rpm. Bob Gittleman and his dad Joe created what may have been Florida's first really scienced-out Junior Stocker. Tailgate was lowered to help traction and release air pressure build-up during 105-plus mph runs. Photo By Bill Bussart - From The Jim Hill Collection.

Fortunately, the car was largely intact, and Wendell's restoration of the car was outstanding. Every piece of original sheetmetal that could be saved was, and the usual Tri-5 cancer spots were repaired to as-new condition. Ironically, his knowledge of the car from "the old days" proved handy in his task of bringing the Xcellerator back to mid-'60s life. Wendell was an integral member of the South Florida Timing Association, and personally knew the car from its days as a drag stripwarrior. Along with info and pictures Gary and Keith had put together, Wendell returned the '57 wagon to almost exactly the way it was when Bobowned the car.

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X-Cellerating Past A Poncho - Junior Stock racing attracted a variety of cars. Here Bob Gittleman is off against a '60 Pontiac Catalina. This vintage 1964 photo shot at Miami's Masters Field shows the car in its last trim. Steel Chevy wheels and 7-inch wide "cheater slicks" put thepower to the ground on the airport runway drag strip. Photo By BillBussart - From The Jim Hill Collection.

For power, the Gittlemans went to well-known engine builder Dave Waltersfor a 383 small-block pumping out 467 hp. Working with Wendell, they made the 383 look like the original 270hp 283, complete with dual quads and finned Corvette valvecovers. For better streetability, a Richmond five-speed was tasked with handling the power of the 383 and getting it to the rear wheels through a Currie 9-inch rear. Walter's Engineering fabricated a handmade set of traction bars for the car, so that, top to bottom, the '57 looks just like it did in the 1960s when Bob was racing.

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A wolf in sheep's clothing? While the case is a generator, the internalshave been upgraded so it's now an alternator, giving the car reliable high amperage power while keeping the classic generator look.

Gary and Keith Gittleman also deserve considerable credit for seeing thejob through. Bob was once again able to see and enjoy the car shortly before he passed away in 2000. You can see mirrored in his son's eyes how much their dad loved that high-revving,'57 Chevy.

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Xcelleration Factor - '57 210 2-door Wagon Racecar

An F/Stock powerhouse in its day, Bob Gittleman's '57 210 wagon fully restored is quite an impressive sight. Originally planning to build a clone of their Dad's racecar, Keith and Gary were surprised when Tri-5 expert Wendell Snowden located the original car--still intact--in the Orlando area.

Easy Off The Line - Bob Gittleman waits for the green as he takes on a '58 Chevy Delray sedan at Miami's Masters Field drag strip. The deactivated Marine Air Corps field was used as a dragstrip for several years and Gittleman's innocent-looking '57 Chevy wagon won numerous Stock Eliminators during those years. Photo By Bill Bussart - From The Jim Hill Collection

Even in wagon form, the '57 Chevy still made for an impressive-looking race car. The beauty of the stock classes were that you could run just about anything and be competitive if you were a good enough driver. Because of their low purchase cost, many Tri-5s saw dragstrip duty while serving as daily drivers for some budget-minded racers.

When Wendell Snowden found the '57 in Orlando, the outlines of the Xcellerator and sponsor decals could still be seen on the car's windows,confirming the car was the original. Bob Gittleman didn't believe Wendell had found the original car until the day he saw it again after the restoration was finished!

Well-known engine builder Bob Fulp built the car's original 270hp 283, using the best blueprinting techniques possible to squeeze every possible horsepower from the factory combination. Part of this involvedmaking sure all tolerances were as close to perfect as possible, internal parts matched and balanced, everything maximized for performance.

Pontiac made musclecar history with the 1964 GTO, but Bob Gittleman's seriously prepared, '57 Chevy 210 wagon and its270hp 283 was more than a match for ...Three deuces and a four-speed, and a 389. Gittleman's two-door '57 wagon ruled Florida Junior Stock racing. Photo By Bill Bussart. - From The Jim Hill Collection

In its day the Xcellerator was a terror on the South Florida dragstrips, including two titles in 1964. While a lot of focus is usually given to the West Coast drag racing scene, there was just as much racing going on in the south, with a multitude of WWII airstrips being converted intodragstrips, and new facilities like Miami Dragway being built to handlethe public's insatiable lust for drag racing.

Bob's father Joe raced a '60 Impala with a 348 tri-power combo while Bob ran the wagon.

F/Stock rules mandated nothing wider than a 7-inch tire tread, so racers had to balance their power output with what their car's tires could handle on the track surface.

Before Bob passed away in 2000, sons Keith and Gary Gittleman were ableto present him with his old race car, restored to immaculate condition and looking just as it did when Bob raced it, thanks to the craftsmanship and expertise of Tri-5 guru Wendell Snowden. Wendell practically wrote the judging book on Tri-5 Chevys, so you'd be hard pressed to find someone who knows the ins and outs, and every nut and bolt of a Tri-5 Chevy.

Originally Keith and Gary wanted to build an authentic 270hp 283 to gowith the restored car, but then decided to use a 383 built by South Florida performance expert Dave Walters. Cranking out almost 500 hp, themotor is connected to a Richmond 5-speed that puts power through a Currie 9-inch rear.

Another nod to modern performance (and safety) was the installation of manual disc brakes to make sure the car's go power was matched by whoa power.

Wanting to keep the look of the car's original 270hp 283, '57 style Corvette valvecovers and authentic carbs and manifold were adapted to the 383. At first glance, you might not realize that this isn't a 283.

Rev It Up And Drop The Clutch - The 270hp, 283 option delivered two Rochester 4G-C four barrels, Power-Pak heads and a Duntov "097" solidlifter cam, a package capable of 7,000-plus rpm. Bob Gittleman and his dad Joe created what may have been Florida's first really scienced-out Junior Stocker. Tailgate was lowered to help traction and release air pressure build-up during 105-plus mph runs. Photo By Bill Bussart - From The Jim Hill Collection.

X-Cellerating Past A Poncho - Junior Stock racing attracted a variety of cars. Here Bob Gittleman is off against a '60 Pontiac Catalina. This vintage 1964 photo shot at Miami's Masters Field shows the car in its last trim. Steel Chevy wheels and 7-inch wide "cheater slicks" put thepower to the ground on the airport runway drag strip. Photo By BillBussart - From The Jim Hill Collection.

A wolf in sheep's clothing? While the case is a generator, the internalshave been upgraded so it's now an alternator, giving the car reliable high amperage power while keeping the classic generator look.

The interior was also restored to the same condition as when it was raced. Compared to today's race cars, this is considered seat-of-the-pants racing, but was the norm for the day--even the large factory steering wheel.

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